The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan

I don't know, but I really dug the sci-fi special that Nathaniel Kahn and M. Night Shyamalan made to try to build a buzz for "The Village" (as if he need to build a buzz). Even the cheesier aspects were enjoyable. As Eug said on his blog, it calls into question the 'sincerity' of Kahn and his investigation of his father, but I'm choosing to dismiss those concerns. Something about M. Night makes me want to believe in the "myth" or "legend" that he's building for himself, even though I'm not a 100% believer in his work. Though I will stand on a crackling twig and say that "Signs" was superior filmmaking (I hear the laughs already). If he can manage to turn down the Spielbergian geek factor and stick to sheer terror, I think he has the ability to make a true masterwork. Either way, I'm psyched to see "The Village," although "Open Water" and "Saw" seem to be intriguing as well.

I leave for two weeks of non electronic maxing and relaxing in Italy (the lovely island of Pantelleria for one week, Rome for the other), so this blog will be nonexistent. But I'm playing in a tennis tournament in which Gerard Depardieu hands out the trophies, so I will still have my mind on the cinema for at least some of the time. Apparently I'm guaranteed a trophy, for having traveled the furthest to participate in the tourney, which is hilarious. I'm gonna pitch "Green Card 2" to Gerard if I get a chance...